TWDG\\II-South State

THIRTEEN

AJ
I peered in the crack of the door, the hallways cold and empty. I saw Clementine and Violet speaking, with Louis sitting down a little ways from the group.
"I just think that's too soon." Clementine argued.
"Too soon? We've been here too long!" Violet groaned. I stepped in, and shut the door. I stomped towards them, Ethan now visible.
"Guys, shush!" I said. "I could hear you from outside!"
"Clem here thinks we should leave in a weeks time." Violet said, ignoring my annoyance. "I just wanna fucking leave!"
"If we leave too soon, that could affect us, and we die." Clem explained. "We aren't leaving in two days."
"Two days?!" I repeated, dumbfounded. "That is way too soon."
"So?" Violet said. "Louis has the gas, Ethan got some food, you surely have the ammo, let's leave!"
"First of, I don't have ammo." I said, crossing my arms. "Not yet."
"We need to wait for an opening." Ethan said. "Please, Violet..."
"You don't know me." Violet argued. "Shut up."
"Vi!" Clementine said sternly. Everyone else went quiet. "We need time; once we have all we need, we can start to plan a way out of here."
"I don't wanna stay here, either." I said, and walked toward the middle of the room, the warmth like a nice kiss from walking outside in the cold. "But I don't wanna die just because we rushed things.
Louis nodded.
"Fine." Violet said, annoyed, her words escaping through gritted teeth. "As soon as AJ gets that ammo, we leave."
"And as soon as we have a plan." Clementine insisted.
"Yeah." Violet said, and sighed. Her messy blonde hair covered her eyes as she tilted her head downwards. "This shit has just been a spiral, and I hate it."
Silence filled the room. No one barely mentioned anything when Aasim died, followed by ruby, and so on. We've just been picked off one by one; how long will it be until I'm faced with death again?Clem has lost Javi, and Gabe, and the list goes way back further than that. As well as Clementine has lost people, Vi and Louis are the only ones alive from the boarding school. I looked at he carpet.
"Yeah." I said. "It has."
"I dunno what you guys went through..." Ethan said, looking between us as we stayed silent. "But...it doesn't sound—"
"Like I said," Violet said, pushing herself up from the couch. "It's been a shit storm."
She walked to the door, and as she did, I caught Clementine's sad gazing eyes follow her. I wish whatever problems they have between them are solved—it's weird seeing them cold toward eachother. Louis followed, his fists unnaturally curled. He sighed as he left, no reasoning behind it. The door clicked, and I winced.
"I wanna leave." I spoke quietly, as Ethan took a shaky breath. Clementine turned to me, her prosthetic restricting her as she did so.
These days, Clementine looked tired; older than she was about a month ago. Her amber eyes had a ring of dark skin a round them, due to lack of sleep. And there was no sense of emotion lurking in her pupils like there used to be. I was concerned as she too nodded, her bottom lip trembling,almost like she was gonna cry; usually strange behaviour for Clementine.
If Clem wasn't hopeful about anything, then there was no way anybody else could be. And now it seemed like she's almost given up. I nearly rushed forward to hug her, if it wasn't for her choked words.
"I'm nothing." She said, her words influenced by incoming tears, as she flopped down on the bed. Ethan did nothing but stare at his hands; it was obvious their emotions were twinning.
I was taken by surprise.
"You're not nothing!" I retaliated, surprised. "How could you ever say that?"
Clementine only looked up, forcing a grim smile, before shrugging.
"Everyone—I just..." Clementine breathed through her nose, before exhaling. "I swear I've been in this situation thousands of times. I gain friends, and they die. I get out of situations to get to safety, only to be manipulated and hurt again. It's stupid."
I wanted to say that wasn't true; but it was. All of it. I wish I could make all of this go away....but I can't. I didn't want to deny the truth.
"Once we leave here, we're going back to the school." I said. "And when we do, we'll be safe."
"Didn't I say that last time?" Clementine scrunched up her nose. "I'm no benefit for anyone."
Clementine took off her hat, which by nose was a fraying bit of fabric, and placed it on the bed beside her. She buried her head in her hands, her troubled sighs filling the room. I wanted to speak and cry with Clem, but Ethan still sat there, awkwardly and unconvincingly trying to ignore his uncomfortableness in the room. I caught his gaze, and nodded at the door; permission for him to leave. He gave a closed smiled, and walked out of our unit, the door closing gently behind him. 
I turned to Clementine, upset to see her leaned over and sobbing quietly. I raced to her side, moving her hands away from her head. She lifted her head, her eyes red, her cheeks stained with tears.
"Oh AJ..." She mumbled, as she wiped her tears with her thumbs. "You must think I'm such a screw up..."
I shook my head.
"I don't think that. Nobody does!" I exclaim. Seeing Clem this distraught made me begin to cry, my gasps accompanied with tears as she wrapped her arms around me.
This entire affair was quite random; maybe Clementine had felt this way for a long time. Or perhaps over the year the stress and grief built up into a mountain of unorganised and untouched thoughts.
My tears stained her jacket as we sat there, eventually the only candle lighting up the room turned out, leaving a cold, dark atmosphere.
...
Louis
I walked with Violet back to the unit, the hallways furnished and empty as we stopped in front of a faded red door. Violet opened the door, and she pushed it back to the wall aggressively. It bounced back, probably leaving a handled dent in the yellow wallpaper.
Jesus; girl need to calm down. I shut the door, and as I did, Violet let out an aggravated yell, kicking a chair. Fuck.
I knew Violet wanted to leave. But I didn't think she was this wound up about Clem doing the right thing, and waiting for an opening.
"Stop." I spat, my speech troubled as I sat down at the rounded mahogany table accompanied with three chairs, one of which was layed across the ground. Violet turned to look at me, her face saying it all.
"Fine." She said, her voice dripping with exhaustion and anger as she sat on one of the chairs, her hands laid out on the table.
"Okay?" I questioned. I knew it was dumb, but I just wanted to know. Vi ignored me, and she bit her lip vigously.
"I just wanna go home." She said. "Clementine just thinks she has authority over everyone, and decides when, where and how we make an exit."
I opened my mouth to protest over these statements, but Vi kept firing.
"I mean yeah, sure, she has experience with this shit. She knows how to shoot, and hunt and fish and bla blah blah! But still!" Violet said. "We don't need ammo! We can live without it, like we always have!"
I raised an eyebrow. It's true, but it would save our asses if we had bullets to supply the amount of guns hidden in the truck.
"—And the best part is, She just acknowledges a loss for a second before moving on. I mean, how can you do that?!" Violet kept ranting my ear off, until I realised this wasn't a plan rant; this was a breakup rant!
"—you love her." I said, and Violet's face relaxed as she leaned back one her chair, her position poor as her tailbone edged the chair. She sighed.
"I do." She gave a small grin, before it disappeared under a wave of sadness. "I really do."
Silence.
Violet gave a cough to fill the silence, as she straightened her back.
"I do. But I feel like she doesn't like me the exact same, you know?" Violet spoke, swallowing bile. "Sometimes I feel it's too much to handle with. We have to fight for our lives everyday, and I don't have time to just...love her."
I look at my hands, which folded into a teepee.
"And now everything is just...sad." Violet turned her head to look out the window, which only showed the light darkness of outside. "And...I hate to keep bringing this up, but...I wish you still had your tongue."
A sharp punch in the gut formed in my head, and I sighed.
"I used to be annoyed with your jokes, and wished you would shut up." Violet went quiet. "Now I would give almost anything for them back."
"Yea." I spoke. "S-ame."
"I want her back." Violet said. "I want to love her like that again."

This situation felt awkward and strange for me; when Clem had arrived, I had feelings for her! And as much as I'm happy for Vi to be happy...I want Clem. Wanted. I wanted Clem.
I've accepted I can't have her.
"Tell her." I spoke, and Violet sighed.
"Not now." She said, and obvious pressure in her voice. "Let's just focus on getting out of here alive first.

A/N: I'm back